


A Gentle Voice

by teddiehtet



Category: IDOLiSH7 (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, College student/radio host show Sougo, First time writing platonic mezzo!, Gen, High School Student Tamaki, Mezzo"
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-22
Updated: 2019-08-22
Packaged: 2020-09-24 02:53:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,562
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20351179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/teddiehtet/pseuds/teddiehtet
Summary: “Good evening. Welcome to Sougo Osaka’s Talk Show. Thank you everyone for tuning in tonight.”Every night, without fail, Tamaki would make sure he caught a certain radio program. He never thought of himself as someone who would be into radio shows, but ever since he stumbled upon this one broadcaster by chance, he found himself making sure to catch the program every night. He doesn't know much about the host, only his name and how he sounds like.Imagine Tamaki’s surprise when he hears that same voice, only this time, it’s out in the open.





	A Gentle Voice

Every night at 10 PM, before turning in for the night, Tamaki would plug his earphones into his phone and tune in to a certain radio show. The calm opening music of the radio show flowed through his ears and soon, he was greeted by a soft, calm voice. 

_ “Good evening. Welcome to Sougo Osaka’s Talk Show. Thank you everyone for tuning in tonight.” _

Tamaki placed his phone face down on his chest and continued to listen. He stretched his arms over his head, and then folded them, sandwiching his hands between the back of his head and his pillow. The slight buzzing of the radio show host’s voice that escaped from the earphones accompanied the sound of Tamaki’s breathing in his otherwise quiet room. 

To be honest, Tamaki never thought that he was the type of person to listen to radio shows. He personally felt more like someone who’s active rather than passive- dancing, sports, even playing games at the arcade are some activities he loves taking part in. This talk show though, specifically this host, somehow grabbed his attention the first time he tried listening. To Tamaki, listening to the talk show before falling asleep was like a ritual now. The host’s soothing voice as well as the way he read his letters and gave advice really calmed Tamaki. The young man quickly became a fan of Sougo Osaka, and before long, Tamaki gathered the courage to send in his first letter. One letter became two, and soon, he would try to send in cards as often as he could. 

_ “Ah, we have another fan letter from Clover-san. Thank you very much for always supporting the show and for your many letters.” _

That grabbed Tamaki’s attention. “Clover”- the name Tamaki always signed his fan letters with. He listened intently to Sougo’s voice as he read the letter out loud and continued to give some advice. 

_ “To Sou-chan. Fufu, thank you for the cute nickname. I’m glad to see you’ve become more comfortable addressing me after all those letters.” _

A smile spread across Tamaki’s face. He was hesitant on writing “Sou-chan” for that letter at first, but he figured that by now, the host wouldn’t mind. He had sent the show many fan letters after all; and Sougo had read most of them, out loud, on his nightly show. 

_ “To Sou-chan: I probably write this a lot but thanks for all the hard work you do on this show! Hearing you talk is always really calming, and although I’m not too into listening to the radio, I really like listening to you. I don’t think I’ve written this before but, I also think you’re amazing- having already figured out what you want to do, even though you’re so young. To be honest, I wish I was sure of what I want to be in the future too. Hopefully one day I’ll decide too! Thanks for always reading my letters, and good luck again!” _

As Tamaki waited for Sougo’s comment on his letter, he thought back to the beginning of the school year, when his homeroom teacher declared that his class would need to start thinking about what path they would like to take after they graduate. After all, Tamaki was in his last year of high school. 

_ “Clover-san, you praise me too much,” _ Sougo chuckled. _ “As always, thank you for your continued support. Shall I tell you a little story? When I was in high school, I was quite lost. I honestly didn’t know what I wanted to do yet, so I dabbled a lot. Some of my friends said that I was an ‘all-rounder’, and that it would be easy for me to go down any career path I chose. But did I truly want that? Did I truly want to commit to something because I thought it was convenient? Or because I thought it was something my parents would have wanted?” _

Tamaki shook his head as if he was answering Sougo’s question face to face. 

_ “During my final year, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to put down on my career form. My parents wanted me to go on to college, so at that point, that’s what I did. I decided to continue my education and managed to get into college. Once I reached that point, I thought, ‘Now what?’” _

Tamaki was slightly surprised that Sougo was going into this much detail. The host didn’t have an obligation to address his concern at all. Tamaki didn’t even really ask him for advice in his letter. 

_ “I wasn’t sure what I wanted to major in. It’s a scary thought isn’t it, not knowing what you want to do? Being lost when you thought you’ve reached a point where you knew how to go on. On a whim, I decided to try and take a communications class. I thought, ‘Why not try?’ I used to be part of the broadcasting committee in high school after all, even though that was because a friend of mine dragged me, but that’s a story for another day.” _

Tamaki chuckled, amused at how much time the host was spending on his letter tonight. He never thought Sougo would remember his pen-name, let alone even talk this long for Tamaki. 

_ “From then, I started gaining interest. I took more classes, and ended up getting very passionate about them. I would make conversation with the professors, and while I was searching for part time jobs, one of my professors informed me of a position right here, at this station. That was a couple of years ago, when I was a first year, and here I am now.” _

Tamaki hummed. He thought that Sougo always knew for sure what he wanted to do. After all, he was doing an amazing job as a radio show host, even if it’s part time, and he was only in college. Tamaki was sure that if Sougo continued this job at this pace, he would get a lot more recognition in no time, and could easily climb up the ranks. It was reassuring to hear that even Sougo had his own struggles choosing his future. 

_ “It may sound a bit presumptuous of me, coming from a 20 year old, but if you find yourself not being sure about what you want to pursue yet, that’s perfectly normal. In my opinion, a lot of people aren’t sure of what they want to do in life, and that’s okay. I’ve heard of many older people go back to university to pursue a different degree, change jobs, or even more to a completely different country to start anew… Ah-- I apologize everyone, I think I may have rambled on a bit too long. Clover-san, as always, thank you for your letter and I hope my story didn’t bore you too much. Now, let’s go on to our last letter for tonight.” _

“Towards the end of the show, Tamaki’s eyelids were already drooping, lulled to sleep by his favorite broadcaster’s voice as well as the program’s soothing background music. 

_ “Well, this is all I have for tonight. Please feel free to keep sending in cards and letters. I enjoy reading them quite a lot, and I hope, for those of you who needed some advice, that I was able to help even if it’s only a little. Once again, thank you everyone for your support, and have a good night.” _

Just as the music faded out, Tamaki pulled his earphones out from his ears and let his eyes close. Within seconds, he dozed off. 

* * *

“Sensei.” 

Tamaki placed a sheet of paper, his career path form, on his homeroom teacher’s desk. His teacher skimmed over the form and thanked Tamaki for handing in the form. 

“So you’ve decided to try and apply for college?” 

Tamaki nodded. 

“Have you decided on a list yet? With your current grades, I can give you some colleges and universities you can try for, but of course, you’d need to do more research as well.” 

Tamaki answered, “I have a couple of colleges in mind, but not a top choice yet. It’d be great if you could help me out, sensei.” 

“Understood. Well, thank you for handing in your form, Yotsuba-kun. I thought I’d have to chase you down again but, you saved me the trouble.” 

“I just had a little helping hand from someone,” Tamaki grinned. 

* * *

After school, instead of starting his walk back home, Tamaki had an urge to take a small detour and visit the playground he used to frequent when he was a kid. The area hadn’t changed much. All the equipment were all still present, with the addition of a few more, and there were a few children running around as well. Tamaki’s gaze swept along the vicinity, and paused on a young man sitting casually on one of the swings. Seeing that there wasn’t really anything he wanted to do there for the moment, Tamaki turned to make his way back home… until he heard the young man murmur. 

“If I can space out and finish most of my assignments for the week by tonight and tomorrow night, I can probably spend more time going over the letters and spend some time with the others…” 

Tamaki’s head snapped around so fast he thought he was about to get whiplash. That voice… he would recognize that specific voice anywhere. 

“Excuse me,” Tamaki called out. 

The other man raised his head, meeting Tamaki’s bright blue eyes with his own purple ones.

“You’re the radio show host, Sougo Osaka, aren’t you?” Tamaki blurted, 100% sure in his deduction. 

“Ah… yes, that’s me,” the other man steadily replied. “Um… I’m sorry, have we met somewhere before?” 

“I’m a fan of your show!” Tamaki continued, beams of excitement positively radiating from him. 

“Oh, a fan,” Sougo parroted. “I’m quite surprised, I don’t really run into fans since my face is never revealed-” 

“Well yeah, but I can still hear your voice,” Tamaki interrupted. “You actually read one of my letters on last night’s show. I’m ‘Clover’.” 

Recognition dawned on Sougo’s face. “You’re Clover-san! Thank you so much for always supporting me and for always sending in letters.” Sougo stood up from the swing just to give Tamaki a bow of thanks. 

“I really like listening to your program. You’re a really good host,” Tamaki praised. 

With a chuckle, Sougo responded, “You praise me too much, even in your cards. I appreciate your continued support. By the way, how would you like me to address you as?” 

“Oh right, I forgot,” Tamaki muttered. “I’m Tamaki. Tamaki Yotsuba. Technically we just met but it feels like we’ve known each other for way longer so you can just call me by my first name. I’m pretty casual so I also hope you’re okay that I wrote ‘Sou-chan’.” 

Sougo raised his hands in reassurance. “I’ve read so many of your cards, Tamaki-kun, I feel like we’ve been friends for a while now as well. Like I said on last night’s program, I’m glad that you’ve become more comfortable addressing me more casually!” 

“Uwah, actually meeting you out of nowhere in real life like this is kinda mind-blowing,” Tamaki confessed, eyes sparkling. 

“True, this is quite an interesting twist of fate,” Sougo continued. “Oh, I hope I didn’t bore you too much last night. Was it helpful to you, at all?” 

Tamaki nodded. “Hearing you talk a bit about your own story gave me a little bit more courage to just...kinda move ahead, y’know.” 

Sougo tilted his head in question. “Oh? If you don’t mind me asking…” 

“I don’t mind!” Tamaki cut in. “For some time, I’ve been putting off on handing in my career form cuz I really had no idea what to write on it. There wasn’t really something that I saw myself doing some years from now. Sure, there are things I enjoy, like dancing and stuff, but career-wise, I didn’t really know what direction I wanted to go in.” 

“Hmm, I see,” Sougo hummed. “So you’re in your last year of high school.” 

“Mmhm,” Tamaki confirmed. “I’m actually still not really sure what I want yet but… at least I put down something on the form and finally turned it in.” 

“That’s great, Tamaki-kun!” Sougo congratulated. “I’m proud of you! That’s one step closer, nevertheless. Being in your last year of high school may seem a bit intimidating, but once you’ve lept that hurdle and graduated, you’ll find that there are many more opportunities to explore, and take the time to decide what path you want to choose.” 

“Yeah, and I think I’ll probably just see what happens along the way. Maybe I’ll end up finding out what I want to do in college, like you.” Tamaki shrugged. “Or maybe it’ll take me more time to figure out.” 

“But today, you took one step forward, and that already is an accomplishment in itself,” Sougo reassured. “Don’t worry, Tamaki-kun. You have your whole life ahead of you.” 

“Thanks, Sou-chan. If it wasn’t for your advice, I think I’d probably just keep putting off on filling out that form.” 

“I’m happy to help in any way,” Sougo replied, a small smile decorating his lips. 

“Um,” Tamaki started as he pulled out his phone from his pocket. “I’m not sure if you have Tweeter but if you do…is it okay if I follow you…?” 

With a nod, Sougo took the phone Tamaki was offering and entered his Tweeter handle in the search bar before handing it back to the younger man. He then took his own phone out and accepted the follow request before sending a request of his own. 

“Thanks so much, Sou-chan,” Tamaki enthusiastically thanked. “It was really fun meeting you today!” 

“No no, thank you as well, Tamaki-kun. I also really enjoyed our conversation today. If you want any advice, feel free to send me a message! I’m actually not very confident in giving advice, but I’ll always try my best.” 

“Huh? Your advice is pretty good though? Like I said, you helped me decide something today! I’m sure people like hearing your tips on the talk show too, or else your viewers won’t keep tuning in.” 

“You’re very good at boosting my confidence, Tamaki-kun,” Sougo pointed out. “Reading your letters have also given me a lot of strength.” 

“Oh, speaking of letters, I’ll probably still keep sending them, but less often. I already said this but I’m pretty casual, so I think I’m going to end up spamming your messages instead,” Tamaki warned beforehand. “At least now I can actually talk to you.” 

“That’s true,” Sougo answered. “I’m glad that now at least we’ll be able to communicate.” 

All of a sudden, Tamaki’s phone beeped, signaling an incoming text. The younger man quickly skimmed the message and uttered, “Ah right, I almost forgot, I need to grab something from the store before heading back.” 

“Our conversation took a while didn’t it,” Sougo commented. “It was really nice to meet you Tamaki-kun. I wish you good luck!” 

“Thanks, Sou-chan! I’ll be listening to your show tonight too! Good luck with everything!” 

Saying so, Tamaki took off and started jogging to the store before heading back home. 

Although today was their first meeting, it was only one out of many to come, may it be either by chance or by plans. 

**Author's Note:**

> Happy very much belated birthday Viska!! I...finished writing this at 4:30 AM and I kinda did this all in one sitting so my brain is kinda fried, but I hope the fic turned out good!! I wanted to try writing platonic Mezzo this time (my first time trying!) and I hope it was ok!
> 
> I also wanted to try experimenting and write in a sliiiightly different way than I usually do (kinda) so I'm hoping I did platonic mezzo justice h-- [Also I didn't have a chance to beta read the fic tho ;;;; sorry if there were mistakes aaaa :') ]
> 
> Please feel free to leave comments/constructive criticism! :D


End file.
